Govt’s grazing reserve proposal behind renewed Kaduna killings – ECWA

The 19 District Church Council (DCC) of the Evangelical Church Winning All

(ECWA) has said the announced intention of the Kaduna State

Government to recreate existing cattle grazing reserves in the southern part of the state was a major motivation for the renewed ethnoreligious violence in the area.

Southern Kaduna communities had in recent times suffered many attacks, the latest being the one on four villages in Chawai chiefdom in Kamaru ward of Kauru local government area where scores of people lost their lives.

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, the chairman of the 19 DCC Fellowship, Reverend Zachariah Gado reiterated that the onslaught allegedly perpetrated by Fulani militia came up strong since the issue of grazing reserve was brought to the fore.

The church therefore called on Kaduna state government to stop the creation of grazing reserves in the area. It also called on both state and federal government to restore all occupied areas to their rightful owners; saying failure to do so would not only encourage further lawlessness but could compel owners of the villages to resort to forceful means to recovery their ancestral lands.

While the church appealed for compensation and relief materials for affected persons, it urged the federal government to locate an army barracks near the affected areas to deter further killings.